Seb faces a bigger battle this time

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One year ago, Sebastian Vettel arrived at the Buddh International Circuit already anointed champion of the 2011 Formula One season, having sealed his second title in a row with a comfortable podium finish in Japan.

The 25-year-old German then went one better with a pole-to-flag blitz here.
The 2012 edition of the Grand Prix of India, however, provides for a wholly different picture. Vettel is having to fight a great deal harder and the battle with his closest challenger, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, could well go down to the wire, much like his 2010 title that was decided at Sao Paulo.
For now though, Vettel is on a roll. The Red Bull driver has won his last three races and Alonso’s cause has not been helped by two DNFs (Did Not Finish) against his name, at the Belgian and Singapore Grands Prix.
Vettel has consequently squeezed his way to a six-point advantage over the Spaniard having taken the chequered flag at Singapore, Suzuka (Japan) and Yeongam (Korea). Adding to the discomfort of his challengers, Red Bull’s innovative “double diffuser” has given his car some serious race pace.
In a season that opened with an unprecedented seven different winners, Vettel has once again set himself apart with his recent hat-trick.
And what should worry his closest rivals even more is the appeal the BIC holds for the speedy German. “I loved the track layout last year, but not just because I won the race,” he said here. “There is a lot of elevation change around the lap which adds to the fun; it’s like a roller coaster! It really has emerged as one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar for the drivers.”
As it stands, Vettel has every chance to follow in the footsteps of legendary Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio and countryman Michael Schumacher by winning a third straight world championship, but he knows the going could get tougher.
“We know what to do and what to expect, but we are not expecting anything. It looks like it could go down to the last race again, right to the wire. We are ready for anything,” Vettel said.
For his part, Alonso is far from being a spent force. The driver of the season by some distance, the two-time world champion is not ready to throw in the towel either.
“We still have four races to go and I have nearly the same points as Vettel. There is all possibility to push for the championship. We are in a position to fight for it,” he said at the BIC on Thursday.
“It will be a battle of package. Everyone will have their strong points and weak areas.
“At the moment Red Bull may have the fastest cars, especially on qualifying days, but we will try to use our strong points.”
Third-placed Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen (167 points) is looking forward to his first race in India, though aware that the title race is a two-way battle now.
“We just need to keep working as hard as we can to score strong points,” the 2007 F1 champion said here on Thursday. “The gap to Sebastian is quite big now so it will be very difficult to catch him.”